Now that his career as a kangaroo jacker/Jordan crosser is in the past, Jerry O’Connell is ready to move on…to star in a remake of a sitcom that aired from 1964-1966. O’Connell, also known as the fat kid from Stand by Me, will play patriarchal working class stiff Herman Munster in Bryan Fuller’s “Mockingbird Lane.”

The project, which was originally slated to go into production in the spring but got pushed back until early summer due to casting issues, is being stewarded by “Pushing Daisies” creator Bryan Fuller and X-Men auteur Bryan Singer. Whereas the original was a comedy, the remake is being billed by NBC as a “visually spectacular one hour drama.” (Via)

O’Connell being cast as a well-meaning, buffoonish monster is almost too perfect casting, as is Eddie Izzard’s sarcastic vampire Sam Dracula, a.k.a. Grandpa. I might actually be excited for the show (I will always love Fuller for creating “Pushing Daisies”), were it not for the fact that it’s being described as “edgier,” “darker,” and a “blinged-out representation of what monsters would be doing if they lived in our society today.” If Eddie Munster is portrayed as a know-it-all who dishes out romantic advice, I may have to pull a Lardass.

“So glad you asked, but before I answer, let me tell you about a new project we’re working on about cheeseburgers. Well, it’s not so much *about* cheeseburgers as it is that we’re just making a cheeseburger, except we’re replacing the bun with rice cakes, the mustard and mayo with organic raspberry jam and creme fraiche, the vegetable-fixings with slices of raw beets and some weeds we found in a vacant lot, and the beef patty with blood-sausage. It’s your classic cheeseburger story, except edgier, fresher, and darker.
Oh, sorry, didn’t answer your question. No. No, there is not.”
– Jeff Zucker